Milestone asbestos payout ordered By REBECCA WALSH, New Zealand News
The Wellington District Court decision is the first lump-sum award for asbestos victims diagnosed after April 1, 2002.
Lawyer Hazel Armstrong said it set a precedent for others diagnosed since then to claim lump-sum compensation.
'There is good reason for assisting these workers - they helped build New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s,' she said.
'Many asbestos victims worked in the construction industry. They were engineers, carpenters, labourers.
'The Government knew that lung cancer was caused by asbestos by the 1960s but chose to allow imports and its use by industry to continue.'